Your AA state champion? Central
By Dennis Brunson
hssr.com Associate Editor
Sumter – Trying to figure out who the best football team is in the South Carolina High School League’s AA classification has not been an easy task. Records have been distorted with teams like defending state champion Clinton and defending runner-up Fairfield Central playing up in non-region games and taking losses. Then you have tough regions like Region 2 with Strom Thurmond, Batesburg-Leesville and Saluda locking up in epic battles.
Then there is Region 4. It has the team with the best record among the contenders in Central with a 9-1 record after the first round of the state playoffs. However the Eagles didn’t even wn the region title. They lost to Andrew Jackson, which is the region champion.
They could meet again – for the state championship – since Region 4 is a hybrid region. AJ is in the upper state bracket and Central is in the lower state bracket. Another region team, Cheraw, is still alive in the lower state bracket.
So you know how we figure all of this out, right? By letting the playoffs play out.
With one week in the books, let’s try to figure out who will be playing for the state title on Saturday, December 6, at South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg beginning at 4 p.m.
Here we go starting with the upper state second round:
Saluda at Clinton
Fairfield Central at Andrew Jackson
Batesburg-Leesville at Chester
Liberty at Strom Thurmond
These are all teams that have been consequential in AA in the last few years. You have four region champions in Region 1 Clinton, Region 2 Strom Thurmond, Region 3 Chester and Region 4 Andrew Jackson. There are three second-place teams in Fairfield Central, B-L and Liberty.
Saluda finished third but it lost to both Thurmond and B-L in overtime and dropped a 1-point decision to Ninety Six. While the Tigers will put up a strong fight, Clinton shoul come away victorious with running back Javen Cook leadin the way.
Fairfield Central is 8-3, while AJ is 7-4 with one of thosef losses coming to the Griffins by a 35-0 count. The Volunteers won’t be able to make up enough of that gap.
Batesburg-Leesville has rebounded from a slow start and is 8-3. Chester started the season 1-3 but has won six of its last seven to go to 7-4. Running back Amadre Wooden and wide receiver KD Whitt should provde enough plays to give B-L a victory.
Strom Thurmond is 9-2 and Liberty is 8-3. Playing in Region 2 should be enough to push the Rebels past Liberty.
The quarterfinal games are:
Fairfield Central at Clinton
Batesburg-Leesville at Strom Thurmond
Fairfield and Clinton will meet again in the playoffs only one round earlier. The Red Devils will win again because of their overpowering running game.
Thurmond and B-L faced off in their region opener with the Rebels coming away with a 28-26 overtime triumph. They took Region 2 with an undefeated record, but it will come to an end with a Panthers victory.
The upper state title game will be:
Batesburg-Leesville at Clinton
This could be a very quick game as both teams love the running game and rightfully so. Two of the best running backs in the state will play in B-L’s Wooden, the school’s all-time leading rusher, and Clinton’s Cook. They will be toting the rock on a regular basis.
Somehow, some way, the Panthers are going to come out victorious and advance to the title game.
The four second-round games in the lower state are:
Cheraw at Hampton County
Timberland at Manning
East Clarendon at Central
Atlantic Collegiate at Philip Simmons
These are four games that are intriguing as well but in a different fashion. Save Central – which again, didn’t win its region – each has had something to overcome.
After losing three straighr games, including its first two Region 4 contests to Central and AJ, Cheraw is on a 4-game winning streak and is 7-4. Hampton had a 3-game losing streak of its own but has reeled off five straight wins to claim the Region 6 title. The losses all came to solid to strong teams in higher classes though, and the Hurricanes should be victorious.
Manning, which played for the lower state title last year, started 0-2 and lost its Region 7 opener. However, the Monarchs won the rest of their region contests and are on a 6-game winning streak. Timberland is 9-2 but finished second in Region 6 after losing to Philip Simmons 22-0. This will be a slugfest between two teams who methodically run the ball and play tough defense. Manning will be victorious.
East Clarendon is 9-2 but finished third in Region 7 with losses to Atlantic Collegiate and Lake City. Central is 9-1 with the lone loss coming to AJ by a 21-20 count. With the exception of a 34-27 win over Cheraw, all of the Eagles’ wins have come in blowout fashion. They will pick up their 10th win.
Atlantic Collegiate, in just its second year of football, has had something of a magical run in the second half of the season. The Armada lost its first five games, albeit against a murderous non-region schedule. However, ACA went 4-2 in Region 7 to finish second and opened with a home win over Woodland. Philip Simmons is on a 9-game winning streak after losing its first two. The Iron Horses will ground the Armada’s season.
That means the quarterfinal games are:
Hampton County at Manning
Central at Philip Simmons
Hampton County will have too much offensive firepower for the Monarchs. Central will have to make the almost 3-hour drive from Pageland to Charleston, but the trip back will be a little shorter after a victory.
The lower state title game will have:
Central at Hampton County
Central will make an almost identical trip to Varnville to take on the Hurricanes the following week. Again, the Eagles will be celebrating on the return ride home.
And your state title game will be:
Batesburg-Leesville vs. Central
These are two historically strong programs where their hometowns generally shut down on Friday nights. The Eagles, led by the likes of Dwayne Louallen Jr., Ashten Wilson, Marques Allen and Taveon Moore, will be too hard for the Panthers to handle.
Central will be a state champion for the first time since 2010.
First Round
Friday
Upper State
Clinton 56, North Central 7
Saluda 33, Mid-Carolina 13
Andrew Jackson 34, Ninety Six 16
Fairfield Central 50, Chesnee 21
Chester 50, Blacksburg 6
Batesburg-Leesville 42, Eau Claire 0
Strom Thurmond 49, Chesterfield 0
Liberty 35, Pelion 14
Lower State
Hampton County 56, Lake City 22
Cheraw 17, Andrews 7
Manning 48, Academic Magnet 7
Timberland 46, Barnwell 8
Central 56, Kingstree 6
East Clarendon 14, Lake Marion 0
Philip Simmons 57, Whale Branch 12
Atlantic Collegiate 14, Woodland 0
Second Round
November 14
Upper State
Saluda at Clinton
Andrew Jackson at Fairfield Central
Batesburg-Leesville at Chester
Liberty at Strom Thurmond
Lower State
Cheraw at Hampton County
Timberland at Manning
East Clarendon at Central
Atlantic Collegiate at Philip Simmons
